It Means Nothing
by mnt31092
Summary: It wasn't supposed to mean anything.


**A/N: I'm just warning you that there are a few F-bombs being dropped in this story. This is AU, and it's totally different from anything I've ever written before, but I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing :(**

He wished that he could be anywhere but there. He wanted to be at a bar with his best friend or on a vacation or fucking some girl. It didn't matter where or what he would be doing, as long as he wasn't there. Instead, Danny Messer was stuck at some party being thrown by one of the richest men in New York, watching as his fiancee mingled with the other guests. If this was a rare event, he probably wouldn't have been so annoyed about being there. Only parties like these happened every week, and his parents and fiancee always expected him to go. Danny would have thought he'd be used to these kind of things by now. After all, he'd grown up with this lifestyle. But the older he'd gotten, the more he'd grown to hate these parties. The only reason he still went was so he wouldn't disappoint his parents. They'd already been disappointed enough by their first son, so Danny figured he should at least try and make them proud of him.

Him not wanting to disappoint his parents was the reason for why he was marrying who he was marrying. Arianna Bradshaw had been born into money, just like Danny had. Her family had been friends with his for years, and even from a young age, it was expected of them to marry each other. For awhile, Danny had been against it and had tried to find something better. However, when nothing better came along, he decided to settle for Arianna, which caused excitement in both of their families.

Almost any guy would have fantasized about being with Arianna and they would have looked at Danny like he was crazy for cheating on her constantly. She just wasn't who he wanted to be with. Arianna was the type of girl who, in Danny's opinion, was good for a one night stand. But spending the rest of his life with her? Sometimes, Danny wanted to kill himself at the thought of it. She was a spoiled little brat, and Danny couldn't stand it. His parents adored her, though, since the only side of her that they saw was all an act. Danny figured that if his parents did see the bitchy side of Arianna, they would still love her. After all, she was rich, and that was all that mattered.

"Oh my God," Arianna said, interrupting Danny's thoughts. "Look at that woman over there. She does _not_ belong at a party like this."

Arianna pointed so her friends could see, and Danny turned to look as well.

"That's Stella Bonasera's cousin," one of Arianna's friends said, smirking in the woman's direction. "She's from Montana, and from what I hear, she is beyond poor."

"Leave it to Stella to bring the charity case to the party," Arianna said, laughing along with her friends.

The women continued to chat, but Danny tuned them out. He was focused on the woman they were talking about. They were definitely right about one thing. This woman did not look like she belonged at all. Most of the women at the party had fake tans, too much make up on their faces, hair that looked like it had taken hours to style, and were dripping with diamonds. This woman, however, wore little make up and a simple dress, and her curly, shoulder length hair looked like it had taken her five minutes to style. Unlike Arianna and her friends, Danny didn't think this was a bad thing. The woman was clearly a natural beauty, which was probably the reason Arianna was jealous.

Danny continued to stare at her until she finally looked in his direction. When she noticed him staring, she blushed and looked away. She quickly looked back at him, though, and she gave him a shy smile. Danny smiled back at her, then he turned to see if Arianna was paying attention. When he saw that she wasn't, he began to walk over to the woman. He finally found his way of getting out of this party.

* * *

When Danny opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was her. He sat up when he noticed that she was rushing around the room, searching for articles of clothing.

"Where're you off to in such a hurry?" Danny asked, his voice heavy with sleep. She jumped, startled by his voice, then she quickly turned around to face him.

"I'm not this kind of girl," she said. "I can't be here."

"You're not what kind of girl?" Danny asked.

"I'm not the kind of girl who sleeps with random men. I'm not the kind of girl who checks into sleazy motels under a fake name. I'm not the kind of girl who sleeps with someone who has a _fiancee_!"

Danny stared at her, an amused look forming on his face as he watched her slip her dress back on. "Okay," he began, "next time, we'll check into the Plaza if that makes you feel any better."

She turned and glared at him, then continued to search for her shoes. Danny let out a sigh.

"This isn't a big deal, Linds," he said. When she stopped looking for her shoes and gave him her full attention, he continued. "It's not like this means anything, okay? I'm not asking for a relationship here. It's just meaningless sex. And what my fiancee doesn't know won't hurt her."

"Danny..." she began, but was cut off.

"Come on, Lindsay. Live a little."

Lindsay sighed and walked over to the nightstand next to the bed. She opened the drawer and pulled out a notepad and a pen. She scribbled an address down and gave it to Danny.

"Thursday, eight o'clock, my place," she said. After putting on her shoes, she headed towards the door. Before she opened it, she looked at Danny and winked. "Don't be late."

* * *

For three months, Danny and Lindsay only met on those Thursday nights. After awhile though, Danny realized that he needed to be with her on more than those nights. Up until now, he hadn't said anything, although he was pretty sure she was feeling the same way.

It was a Mondsay afternoon, and Arianna had decided to dedicate the entire day to wedding planning.

"Which one of these do you like?" she asked, showing Danny pictures of wedding cakes. Danny stared down at the pictures. He honestly could care less about which damn cake looked best or not. He randomly pointed at a picture, and judging by the look on Arianna's face, he'd chosen the wrong one.

"Do you even care about this wedding?"

_No_, Danny thought.

"I'm putting so much effort into this whole thing, and all you do is sit on your ass and pick out the worst possible cake...."

Blah, blah, blah was all Danny heard out of Arianna's mouth. As she continued to rant, he pulled out his cell phone and found Lindsay's number.

_Can you meet me in an hour? _

He was thankful that she responded quickly.

_Where?_

He thought for a moment. He honestly didn't want sex right now. All he really wanted, which was a surprise for him, was to talk to her.

_How about the diner down the street from your place?_

It only took a minute for her to respon.

_Sounds good to me._

* * *

Danny stood outside the apartment that he'd come to know so well. He couldn't believe that him and Lindsay had kept this thing going for eight months. As he slowly knocked on the door, he also couldn't believe that he was about to do this.

When Lindsay opened the door, she gave him a huge smile. Since that day that they'd met up at the diner, him stopping by her place without warning had become a normal thing. They'd grown closer in those five months, closer than he'd been with any other woman, and quite honestly, that scared the crap out of him.

"Hey!" Lindsay said, giving him a hug. She noticed that he wasn't as excited to see her. Pulling back, she stared at him. "What's wrong?"

He sighed, walking past her into the small apartment. It seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke to her.

"We have to end this."

Lindsay stared at him in shock. Before she could say anything, he continued to talk.

"Whatever this thing is that we have going on, it's wrong. I'm getting married in a week! We just can't keep doing this. It's just not right, and it isn't fair to Arianna."

"Oh, so after eight months, you finally have morals?" Lindsay asked, not trying to hide the anger from her voice. "You've told me everything, so I know for a fact that you don't give a damn about Arianna. So why are you doing this?"

"Why are you getting so upset over this? Everything that's happened these past months have meant _nothing_. _You_ mean _nothing_ to me. You're just some girl at a party that I decided to fuck."

Lindsay could feel the tears forming in her eyes. She didn't know what the hell was going on. She didn't understand why all of a sudden, Danny was acting like a totally different person. When she saw him about to leave, she grabbed his arm, not ready for him to leave without her saying something.

"You know that's not true. These eight months must have meant something to you because if I was just some girl you wanted to sleep with, you would've just done it and left the next day. So don't say that it doesn't mean anything, because it does. Especially to me."

Danny stared at her for a second. "But why?" he asked. "Why does it mean something to you?"

"Because I like you, Danny. A lot," she answered. "And I think you like me, too. So can you honestly look me in the eyes and say that it meant nothing?"

Danny sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. He stared directly into her brown eyes and said, "It meant nothing."

* * *

He couldn't see himself marrying her. He definitely couldn't see himself starting a family with her, which was something that he knew he wanted someday. He couldn't see himself growing old with her and telling her that he loves her every day for the rest of his life.

When he thought of someone he could do those things with, he thought of Lindsay. Not Arianna.

_Live a little._

Those were his exact words to Lindsay their first time together. And yet, he couldn't do just that. He was playing it safe, marrying a girl that he knew wouldn't make his family disappointed in him. Of course, at this point, Danny knew that it wasn't his family keeping him from going to Lindsay. It was himself. He knew he wanted to be with Lindsay, but he was scared. She was the first person he'd really cared about, other than himself, and he was so afraid he'd end up hurting her. The last thing he wanted was to do that.

But then there was always a chance that he wouldn't hurt her and he'd end up with everything he knew he'd always wanted. He just had to take that chance.

"Arianna," he said, interrupting another one of her rants. "I can't do this anymore."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.

"You and me. I'm done."

Surprising Danny, she only laughed at his answer.

"What do you think you'll do if you leave me? Run off with that whore from the country I know you've been fucking?"

Danny shrugged. "I don't know, maybe." he said. "All I know is that anything's better than spending another second with you."

* * *

This time when he opened his eyes, she wasn't the first thing he saw. He rolled over and saw that her side of the bed was empty. Slowly, he got up and made his way down the hallway of the apartment. He stopped outside of a partially closed door and quietly pushed it open. When he saw the sight before him, he once again realized how lucky he was for getting a second chance from her. After the way he had treated her that one day, he knew he didn't deserve another chance, but she had still given him one. And if it wasn't for that second chance, he wouldn't be grinning like an idiot because of the scene in front of him.

He quietly made his way across the room and wrapped his arms around his wife's waist. He leaned over her shoulder and placed a kiss on his daughter's forehead, who was being cradled in Lindsay's arms. He then kissed Lindsay's neck before resting his chin on her shoulder, watching as his daughter drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

"I don't know if I ever told you, Linds," Danny whispered, "but I want you to know that it means a lot to me, too."

A smile formed on Lindsay's face, knowing exactly what he meant by those words.

* * *

**Review please!**


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